This time of year we’re grateful to all our staff across NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration who work hard to protect and restore these living trust resources to benefit wildlife, people and economies.

America’s oceans, Great Lakes, estuaries, and the creatures that inhabit them belong to the American public. Your dedication to them is a gift to us all. Thank you for all you do!

From everything that swims, flaps, scuttles and snaps in America’s waterways ...

Happy Holidays!

To learn more about these living resources, check out the slideshow below.

Freshwater Drum (also known as sheephead) are found in the Great Lakes, rivers, and inland waters of the Midwest. The freshwater drum is a fish known for its noise. Males make a grunting or rumbling sound during the breeding season, which is thought to attract females. Image credit: Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Piping plovers are an endangered species of shorebird. They live in three distinct regions: the Atlantic Coast, the Northern Great Plains, and the Great Lakes. In recent decades, piping plover populations have drastically declined, especially in the Great Lakes. Availability of quality foraging and roosting habitat in the wintering grounds is necessary for the conservation of this species. Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

The American eel is a migratory species. Unlike many other migratory fish, eels spend their spends its adult lives in fresh water and then migrate to the ocean to reproduce. These fish migrate up and down the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Image credit: National Park Service.

American lobsters are found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. American lobsters have a long life span. It’s difficult to determine their exact age because they shed their hard shell when they molt. Scientists believe some lobsters may live to be 100 years old.

Common bottlenose dolphins are found throughout the world in both offshore and coastal waters, including harbors, bays, gulfs, and estuaries of temperate and tropical waters. They are one of the most studied and well-known marine mammals in the wild.

Atlantic sturgeon lifespan is correlated with how far north or south they live. They live up to 60 years in Canada, but likely only 25 to 30 years in the southeast. Southern populations typically grow faster and reach sexual maturity earlier than northern populations.

Coho salmon are anadromous—they hatch in freshwater streams and spend a year in streams and rivers then migrate out to the saltwater environment of the ocean to feed and grow. All coho salmon die after spawning.

Of all the Arctic seals, there are more ringed or ribbon seals than any other kind of seal. Ringed seals are a primary food source for polar bears, and spend their entire lives living near ice. Image credit: NOAA.

Muskellunge, also known as muskies, can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour. Within North America muskellunge are native to the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins. Image credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Ocean quahogs are among the longest-lived marine organisms in the world. Off the U.S. East Coast ocean quahogs can live for at least 200 years. Ocean quahogs are filter feeders. Through their filters quahogs also filter out pollutants in the water.

A green sea turtle burying her nest. Green sea turtles often travel as much as 1,200 miles to reproduce and nest. A female turtle can lay anywhere from 75 to 200 eggs in a single nest. Image credit: National Park Service.

The Atlantic bluefin is the largest species of tuna — averaging around 500 pounds and over 6 feet in length. The largest tuna ever caught was 1,496 pounds. Image credit:Gilbert Van Ryckevorsel/TAG A Giant.

Plain text

No HTML tags allowed.

Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

If you want notification when others comment on this topic, please provide your email. We will not use the email for anything other than notifying you of blog activity, and it will not be displayed with your comment. Learn more in our privacy policy and the Privacy Act Statement.

Recently Tweeted

Links in this Twitter Feed may take you to sites that are not hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You may be subject to different privacy and other policies than those in place on this site.